Portable computer battery indicator

ABSTRACT

A portable computer may include battery indicator light structures. Battery status information in the portable computer may be presented to a user using an array of light-emitting diodes or other light emitters. Light-emitting diodes may be mounted on a printed circuit board. A stiffener may provide the printed circuit board with rigidity. The printed circuit board may include a connector that allows the board to be connected to a main logic board. A switch on the printed circuit board may be actuated by a power button on the portable computer. An opaque member with an array of holes may be used to reduce light bleed between adjacent light-emitting diodes. Diffusing plastic may be mounted within the array of holes. Bumps in the diffusing plastic may mate with corresponding holes on a portable computer housing.

This application claims the benefit of provisional patent applicationNo. 61/105,040, filed Oct. 13, 2008, which is hereby incorporated byreference herein in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

This invention relates to electronic devices and, more particularly, tobattery indicator structures for electronic devices such as portablecomputers.

Portable computers often are provided with indicator lights. Forexample, a light-emitting diode may be provided on the surface of aportable computer that indicates whether or not the portable computer ispowered. Battery status information may also be conveyed usinglight-emitting diodes. For example, a portable computer may have alight-emitting diode that is illuminated when the battery in theportable computer is fully charged.

Conventional indicators are often unsightly and do not convey sufficientinformation to a computer user.

It would therefore be desirable to be able to provide improved batteryindicator structures for electronic devices such as portable computers.

SUMMARY

Portable computers with improved battery charge status indicator lightsare provided.

A portable computer may be provided with a metal housing. An array ofholes may be formed in the housing. A light-emitting diode array may bemounted behind the holes. The pattern of light-emitting diodes in thearray that are lit at any given time may be indicative of the batterycharge status of the battery in the portable computer.

Light-emitting diodes for the light-emitting diode array may be mountedon a printed circuit board. An opaque member may be provided thatcontains an array of holes. The array of holes on the opaque member maybe aligned with the array of light-emitting diodes on the printedcircuit board and the array of holes in the housing. Light diffusingmaterial may be incorporated into the holes of the opaque member toimprove the appearance of the light emitted from the housing.

Further features of the invention, its nature, and various advantageswill be more apparent from the accompanying drawings and the followingdetailed description of the preferred embodiments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an illustrative portable computer inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of an illustrative battery indicator lightassembly in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is cross sectional perspective view of a portion of a portablecomputer having a battery indicator light assembly of the type shown inFIG. 2 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention relates to electronic devices with indicatorlights. The indicator lights may be used to convey information such asbattery charge status information or other information about theoperation of the electronic device to a user of an electronic device.The electronic device may be a handheld computer, a miniature orwearable device, a portable computer, a desktop computer, a mobiletelephone, a music player, a remote control, a global positioning systemdevice, devices that combine the functions of one or more of thesedevices and other suitable devices, or any other electronic device. Withone suitable arrangement, which is sometimes described herein as anexample, the electronic devices in which the indicator lights areprovided may be portable computers such as laptop (notebook) computers.This is, however, merely illustrative. Indicators lights may, ingeneral, be provided in any suitable electronic device.

An illustrative electronic device such as a portable computer in whichindicator lights may be provided is shown in FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 1,portable computer 10 may have a housing 12. Housing 12, which issometimes referred to as a case, may be formed from one or moreindividual structures. For example, housing 12 may have a mainstructural support member that is formed from a solid block of machinedaluminum or other suitable metal. One or more additional structures maybe connected to the housing 12. These structures may include, forexample, internal frame members, external coverings such as sheets ofmetal, etc. Housing 12 and its associated components may, in general, beformed from any suitable materials such as such as plastic, ceramics,metal, glass, etc. An advantage of forming housing 12 at least partlyfrom metal is that metal is durable and attractive in appearance. Metalssuch as aluminum may be anodized to form an insulating oxide coating.

Case 12 may have an upper portion 26 and a lower portion 28. Lowerportion 28 may be referred to as the base or main unit of computer 10and may contain components such as a hard disk drive, battery, and mainlogic board. Upper portion 26, which is sometimes referred to as a coveror lid, may be rotatably connected to lower housing portion 28. Forexample, portion 18 of computer 10 may allow upper portion 26 to rotaterelative to lower portion 28 about rotational axis 16. Portion 18 maycontain a hinge and associated clutch structures and may sometimes bereferred to as a clutch barrel.

Lower housing portion 28 may have a slot such as slot 22 through whichoptical disks may be loaded into an optical disk drive. Lower housingportion may also have a touchpad such a touchpad 24 and keys 20. Ifdesired, additional components may be mounted to upper and lower housingportions 26 and 28. For example, upper and lower housing portions 26 and28 may have ports to which cables may be connected (e.g., universalserial bus ports, an Ethernet port, a Firewire port, audio jacks, cardslots, etc.). Buttons and other controls may also be mounted to housing12.

If desired, upper and lower housing portions 26 and 28 may havetransparent windows through which light may be emitted (e.g., fromlight-emitting diodes). This type of arrangement may be used, forexample, to display status information to a user. Openings may also beformed in the surface of upper and lower housing portions to allow soundto pass through the walls of housing 12. For example, openings may beformed for microphone and speaker ports. With one illustrativearrangement, speaker openings such as speaker openings 30 may be formedin lower housing portion 28 by creating an array of small openings(perforations) in the surface of housing 12.

A display such as display 14 may be mounted within upper housing portion26. Display 14 may be, for example, a liquid crystal display (LCD),organic light emitting diode (OLED) display, or plasma display (asexamples). A glass panel may be mounted in front of display 14. Theglass panel may help add structural integrity to computer 10. Forexample, the glass panel may make upper housing portion 26 more rigidand may protect display 14 from damage due to contact with keys or otherstructures.

Computer 10 may have input-output components such as touch pad 24. Touchpad 24 may include a touch sensitive surface that allows a user ofcomputer 10 to control computer 10 using touch-based commands(gestures). A portion of touchpad 24 may be depressed by the user whenthe user desires to “click” on a displayed item on screen 14.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a battery indicator lightsubassembly that may be used to provide a user with a visual indicationof battery status. The structures of FIG. 2 may include an array oflight-emitting diodes or other suitable light emitting devices. Thepattern of light-emitting diodes that is illuminated for the user may beused to indicate the amount of charge on the battery in computer 10. Asan example, all of the lights in the array may be illuminated when thebattery is fully charged and proportionally fewer lights may beilluminated when there is less charge on the battery.

As shown in FIG. 2, battery indicator light subassembly 32 may include aprinted circuit board 68. Printed circuit board 68 may have a printedcircuit board substrate 40. Substrate 40 may be formed from a rigidprinted circuit board material such as fiberglass-filled epoxy or aflexible printed circuit board (“flex circuit”) material such aspolyimide. Components may be mounted on substrate 40 such as connector42 and button mechanism 46.

Computer 10 may include one or more printed circuit boards, such as amain logic board. Components such as a microprocessor, memory, andassociated integrated circuits may be mounted on the main logic board.The main logic board may have a connector through which control signalsfor battery indicator subassembly 32 are provided. A flex circuit cableor other suitable electrical cable may be used to convey control signalsbetween the main logic board and battery indicator light subassembly 32.One end of the cable may be plugged into the connector on the main logicboard. The other end of the cable may be plugged into connector 42 onsubstrate 40 of battery indicator light printed circuit board 68. Thisarrangement allows circuitry on the main logic board to drivelight-emitting diodes in subassembly 32. If desired, other controlarrangements may be used. For example, control circuitry on a logicboard other than the main logic board may be used in controlling thelight-emitting diodes or control circuitry for the light-emitting diodesmay be incorporated onto printed circuit board 68.

Button mechanism 46 may be formed from any suitable mechanical orelectrical switch structure. Subassembly 32 may be mounted in computer10 in region 60 of housing portion 28. When mounted in this way, buttonmechanism 46 may be aligned with button 64 on housing portion 28. Button64 may be formed from a metal disk or other suitable structure. Toprovide a spring mechanism for button 64, an elastomeric ring such asring 58 may be interposed between the inside surface of button 64 andthe outer surface of button mechanism 46. When a user presses button 64,elastomeric member 58 (e.g., foam) may be compressed against buttonmechanism 46, thereby actuating button mechanism 46. Button 64 may be,for example, the main power button for computer 10.

Stiffener 34 may be used to enhance the structural integrity ofsubassembly 32 by providing stiffness for printed circuit board 68.Stiffener 34 may include a stiffening member 36. Member 36 may be formedfrom a metal such as stainless steel or other rigid materials such asplastic. Stiffener 34 may also include a layer of adhesive such asdouble-sided adhesive tape 38. Adhesive 38 may help to hold stiffener tothe back of printed circuit board substrate 40. Stiffener 34 may haveholes such as holes 50, 52, and 54. Screws in holes 50, 52, and 54 maybe screwed into housing portion 28 to attach subassembly 32 to housingportion 28. The screws in outermost holes 50 and 54 may pass to eitherside of printed circuit board 68. The screw in central stiffener hole 52may pass through corresponding hole 48 in printed circuit boardsubstrate 40.

Battery indicator light array member 56 may have a series of holesthough which light may pass before being emitted through holes in region62 of housing portion 28. Member 56 may be formed from cast aluminum orother suitable opaque material. Screw holes may be provided in member 56to facilitate mounting as part of subassembly 32. Because member 56 ispreferably opaque, member 56 may help to separate individuallight-emitting diodes from each other by preventing undesired lightleakage. Light diffusing plastic 44 may be placed in holes 70 to enhancethe uniformity of the light emitted by the light-emitting diodes onboard 68. The holes in member 56 may be about 1.32 mm in diameter.Although shown as separate structures in the exploded view of FIG. 2,following fabrication (e.g., by injection molding), the light diffusingplastic 44 is preferably formed within the holes 70 and is preventedfrom exiting holes 70 by flared features on the entrance and exit ofeach hole 70.

FIG. 3 shows how diffusing plastic 44 is formed within holes 70 ofmember 56 when subassembly 32 is mounted within housing portion 28. Asshown in FIG. 3, light diffusing plastic 44 forms a series of raisebumps 44A, 44B, etc. Each bump in diffuser 44 corresponds to one ofholes 66 in the sidewall of housing portion 28. For example, diffuserbump 44A is mounted in housing portion 28 so that light that passesthrough bump 44A will be emitted through housing sidewall hole 66A,diffuser bump 44B feeds light through holes 66B, etc. If desired, holes66 may be filled with a clear ultraviolet-light-curable adhesive orother transparent filler to prevent blockage of holes 66 by dust. Holes66 may be drilled into housing portion 28 using laser drilling,mechanical drilling, or other suitable fabrication techniques. Holesmay, if desired, be relatively small (e.g., less than 0.8 mm indiameter, less than 0.6 mm in diameter, less than 0.4 mm in diameter,etc.). If desired, an array of holes 66 may be formed on a separatemember that is subsequently mounted within a rectangular opening inhousing portion 28 as an insert. Other arrangement may also be used(e.g., to support different numbers of holes, to support differentpatterns of indicator lights, etc.).

The foregoing is merely illustrative of the principles of this inventionand various modifications can be made by those skilled in the artwithout departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A battery charge status indicator lightsubassembly, comprising: a printed circuit board substrate; an array ofbattery indicator light-emitting diodes; a battery indicator light arraymember adjacent to the array of battery indicator light-emitting diodes,wherein the battery indicator light array member comprises an opaquematerial having a plurality of holes, each hole in the battery indicatorlight array member being aligned with a respective one of the batteryindicator light-emitting diodes; and light diffusing plastic located inthe holes of the battery indicator light array member, wherein the lightdiffusing plastic in each hole comprises flared portions on at least oneside of that hole.
 2. The battery charge status indicator lightsubassembly defined in claim 1, further comprising: a connector mountedon the printed circuit board.
 3. The battery charge status indicatorlight subassembly defined in claim 2 further comprising a buttonmechanism mounted on the printed circuit board.
 4. The battery chargestatus indicator light subassembly defined in claim 1 further comprisinga button mechanism mounted on the printed circuit board.
 5. The batterycharge status indicator light subassembly defined in claim 4 furthercomprising a elastomeric ring adjacent to the button mechanism.
 6. Thebattery charge status indicator light subassembly defined in claim 1further comprising a stiffener mounted to the printed circuit board. 7.The battery charge status indicator light subassembly defined in claim 1further comprising: a layer of adhesive; and a stiffener mounted to theprinted circuit board with the layer of adhesive.
 8. The battery chargestatus indicator light subassembly defined in claim 7 wherein thestiffener and the printed circuit board have portions defining matingscrew holes.
 9. The battery charge status indicator light subassemblydefined in claim 1 wherein the battery indicator light array membercomprises aluminum.
 10. The battery charge status indicator lightsubassembly defined in claim 1 further comprising: a button mechanismmounted on the printed circuit board.
 11. An electronic device,comprising: a housing having a plurality of battery indicator lightholes; a battery indicator light subassembly that is mounted within thehousing and that has an array of battery indicator light-emitting diodesthat are selectively illuminated to indicate battery charge status forthe electronic device, each light-emitting diode being aligned with arespective one of the plurality of battery indicator light holes; and atransparent filler within each of the plurality of holes in the housing,wherein the transparent filler comprises epoxy.
 12. The electronicdevice defined in claim 11 wherein the epoxy comprises ultraviolet curedepoxy and wherein the holes are less than 0.4 mm in diameter.
 13. Theelectronic device defined in claim 12 further comprising a power buttonthat reciprocates within the housing, wherein the battery indicatorlight subassembly comprises a button mechanism and an elastomeric ringadjacent to the power button.
 14. A portable computer, comprising: alower housing having a plurality of battery indicator light holes; anupper housing rotatably mounted to the lower housing; and a batteryindicator light subassembly having an array of battery indicatorlight-emitting diodes that are selectively illuminated to indicatebattery charge status for the portable computer, each light-emittingdiode being aligned with a respective one of the plurality of batteryindicator light holes.
 15. The portable computer defined in claim 14wherein the plurality of battery indicator light holes are each filledwith a transparent filler, wherein the battery indicator lightsubassembly further comprises a button mechanism, and wherein the lowerhousing comprises regions defining a button hole within which a powerbutton reciprocates to actuate the button mechanism.
 16. The portablecomputer defined in claim 15 wherein the battery indicator lightsubassembly further comprises: an opaque member having holes filled withlight diffusing plastic, each of the holes in the opaque member beinginterposed between one of the light-emitting diodes and a respective oneof the battery indicator light holes; and an elastomeric memberinterposed between the power buttons and the button mechanism.
 17. Theportable computer defined in claim 14 wherein the lower housing has atop surface, a bottom surface, and four side surfaces and wherein theplurality of battery indicator holes are located in one of the sidefaces of the lower housing.